In our industry update series, we’ll share regular updates regarding the industries we serve. Today, we’re looking at the automotive industry—particularly additive manufacturing in the automotive industry.

In the automotive industry, we’re seeing an increased emphasis in efficiency standards, driven by environmental regulations.

The easiest way to meet these new standards is to lower the weight of the car—mainly by lowering the weight of individual parts. Lowering the weight involves using additive manufacturing, while still maintaining part strength and integrity.

With NX software, you have the option to use topology optimization in additive manufacturing. Topology optimization takes input, such as material type, build envelope and load conditions, and allows the computer system to design an optimized part from those inputs.

During the optimization process, the system will also calculate the distortion and strain resulting from applied loads.

Using topology optimization in NX, automotive manufacturers can reduce the weight of a part by allowing the system to optimize the solution. Once the part has been optimized, you can modify the part to achieve the desired results.

A part in NX being edited for greater strength and integrity.

NX contains functions for executing the entire additive manufacturing process, from design to print. For large enterprise companies, having the entire additive manufacturing process integrated into NX means the digital data thread can remain unbroken, reducing the chance for error.

By industrializing additive manufacturing, NX can help make automobiles of the future more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly than ever before.

A part in NX undergoing topology optimization.